The way younger generations are glued to their smartphones, there's almost nothing they can't do with the swipe of a touch screen. Old-fashioned things like writing checks or even paying a roommate with cash is such a bother to some, but yet transferring money to other people with apps hasn't really caught on like the banking industry figured it would. That's why the nation's big four are discussing how they can link up their payment systems to make it easier for consumers to send money via mobile devices or even emails.

More than two-thirds of technology insiders believe that paying with smartphones will overtake cash and credit card payments by 2020, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project and Elon University's School of Communications.

Mobile transactions could hit $31 billion within the next four years, Gartner has predicted. With the proliferation of smartphones and the increasing integration of NFC technology and other options for mobile payment, the space will no doubt continue to grow. E-commerce software company Hybris has released an infographic detailing some notable trends in this industry.

With all the hackers in the headlines -- the Sony PlayStation hacking fiasco (SNE) in April, then Tuesday's threat to "kill" Facebook -- you might be starting to feel a bit more hesitant to offer up your sacred credit-card digits online. One secret weapon, of sorts, aims to keep identity thieves at bay: virtual credit-card numbers.

Mobile payment has been around for years in numerous forms for purchases such as downloading music, ringtones and various other services and is now gaining traction for retail purchases in the U.S. But its implementation in the U.S. is a bit slower due to a lack of standardization of payment methods and the overall security concerns of mCommerce. Some consumers in the U.S.

Near Field Communications, or NFC, is the exchange of information between two devices via wireless signal. For example, a wireless signal emitting from your cell phone can act as a credit card when making a purchase.